Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Goody barrettes. A trip down memory lane. And a really embarassing flashback!


Yesterday I was shopping and passed by the hair accessories and of course had to stop and admire all the pretty bows for litte girl's hair! Ari's hair is getting so long and I really need to put it up every day.

Well  I saw a package of these Goody Barrettes and HAD to buy them (of course, I am a penny pincher and the $1.50 price tag thrilled me) but more than the cost-effectiveness...I remembered these EXACT same barrettes from when I was a kid in the 70's (that's all the info you get on my age).  OMG there's the duck! I remember the duck!

And the kitty cat!  The three flowers in a row - that's the one I always wanted to wear, and always had to battle with my two sisters to be the one who got it first.  Then there's that wierd one that looks like a miniature egg carton - the little dots in a row.  What IS that?

And then I got them home and Ari and I were playing with them.  She kept handing me the next barrette to put in her hair "This one. This one. This one" until she had all the colors and designs on her long ponytail!  And then the flashbacks really started to kick in...

I remembered making long chains of barrettes, connecting one to another, so Ari and I were making necklaces for each other.  Then we experimented making shapes - squares, trianlges, etc. (this is an important lesson in how to create even an odd sided shapes! See - math!)

OK and then other flashbacks REALLY started to kick in...chewed barrettes! Now, I'm not saying I did it, I have 5 siblings to blame for this...but it seemed like all of our plastic barrettes had been chewed.  Like a piece of gum.  The worst part was - we still wore these gnarly hairpieces!  You had to really WORK to close the tab in the chewed-up clasp.  And then - when you had to remove them from your hair - yikes! All the little teeth grooves would catch in your hair!

OK and here's where you should stop reading if you EVER want to speak to me again.  I mean, this is embarrassing, but I'm going to say it anyway. 

I remember that these made excellent ear cleaners.  The plastic wasn't sharp, but the perfect shape to remove that elusive ear wax that q-tips tend to miss. 

And...um...I'm pretty sure they still got put in SOMEBODY's hair after they were used in an ear wax removal endeavor.

I'm so glad I found these barrettes again.  I just hope my daughter isn't as interest in ear maintenance as I was.

Just so you don't leave on that thought...one more cute shot of my little girl :)



12 comments:

Caroline said...

I remember having a set of those, too! Although I never thought to stick them in my ears, *LOL*

PickyHistorian said...

LOL! If it is any consolation, *my* mother used to part my hair (in the sixties) with whatever implement came to hand. Usually it was a chopstick--she kept one on her dresser because it was perfect for smoothing on just the right amount of foundation. However, she'd improvise if no chopstick was to hand, so she parted my hair with metal crochet hooks, knitting needles, sewing scissors, and occasionally a steak knife. Never took any harm from it, either.

pegi said...

That's TOOOOOO much!!!!:D I'm sure we all have memories like that but this is the best!!!! :O
Love the pictures of your daughter, too. She's such a cutey!!
Have a great day!

Mama Mayborne... said...

funny... i used to hate those barrettes when i was a girl and my mom put them all over my head. now, they are a nice flashback and great reminder for why i wanted boys! thanks for posting!!

p.s. ewwwwwww about the earwax!! :)

Anonymous said...

Question is, were they chewed on again after using as ear wax extractors...
;P
D

Krystyna81 said...

OMG all of your comments are making me laugh!

Fourtails...a steak knife?!?! ROFL

Annonymous...EWWW...I was only thinking about ear wax in the hair! but now it's just MORE wrong...

Tina said...

Oh, my sister and I had a bunch of those barrettes, too! The egg-crate one always confused me...what was that texture supposed to be? It also reminded me of corn on the cob.

Krystyna81 said...

Tina...corn on the cob!! yes!!!

Tiffany said...

This brings back so many memories! I remember chewing those things up until they were no longer usable. The bunnies were my favorite. My mom would always be on the lookout for new, cooler barrettes. Now she does the same thing for my daughter:)

Tati Viana said...

Your daughter is adorable and really cute!
Don't worry about ear maintenance... My father cleans his ears using his keys. XD

Lori Ann said...

Ran across your post when searching through Google images...love, love, love your stories. I have very fond memories of the same barrettes. I keep a pack at my desk just to look at from time to time!!

~Lori Ann, eMarketing Manager, Goody

Krystyna81 said...

LoriAnn, I hope the ear cleaning story doesn't make it into any marketing campaigns! Thanks for the comment :)